Investigating the stigmatising effect of presenting genetic causes for bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder

Genetic information is increasingly being used to identify predispositions towards psychiatric disorders. However, previous research suggests genetic information may increase stigma towards individuals with a mental health disorder. The present study investigates whether genetic causal explanations influence stigma towards bipolar disorder (BD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Six facets of stigma were explored; blame, the desire for social distance, prognostic pessimism, associative stigma, occupational stigma and perceived dangerousness. We hypothesised that a positive genetic test would result in: 1. decreased blame and the desire for social distance in both disorders; 2. increased prognostic pessimism, associative stigma and occupational stigma in both disorders; 3. increased perceived dangerousness in AUD but not in BD. A total of 128 participants (mean age = 29.0) completed an online survey where they read one of four vignettes, describing a person with BD or AUD, who also received a positive or negative genetic test result. Participants then completed stigma-related questionnaires. Results from six 2 (disorder: BD/AUD) x 2 (test result: positive/negative) ANOVAs revealed no significant effects for blame or desire for social distance. A positive genetic test result significantly increased prognostic pessimism and associative stigma. No significant effect was found for occupational stigma. There was a significant interaction for perceived dangerousness. These findings suggest that genetic causal explanations may increase negative perceptions regarding an individual’s ability to recover, and about their close family relatives. Future studies should investigate these effects in a wide range of mental health disorders.